JP2016225844A - Image formation device, and genuine product determination method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To allow for more accurate determination of whether or not a toner container is a genuine product, by making the analysis of communication content difficult furthermore.SOLUTION: An image formation device includes a toner container 17 that can be attached detachably to a main image formation device, and having a function dealing with a plurality of authentication commands and executing encryption processing based on the authentication command, and transmitting the execution results to the main image formation device, an authentication command selection unit 103 for properly selecting an authentication command to be used among the plurality of authentication commands, an authentication command transmission unit 104 for transmitting a selected authentication command to the toner container 17, an encryption processing execution unit 183 for executing encryption processing based on the authentication command, a comparison unit 106 for comparing the execution results with the encrypted execution results transmitted from the toner container 17, and a genuine product determination unit 107 for determining whether or not the toner container 17 is a genuine product based on the comparison results.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

  The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus and a genuine product determination method, and more particularly to a technique for determining whether a toner container is a genuine product.

  In an image forming apparatus (for example, a copier or a printer), a toner container is generally detachable. When the toner runs out, the toner container is replaced with a new one. However, in recent years, there have been cases where non-genuine toner containers are used. If a non-genuine toner container is used, not only the performance of the image forming apparatus will not be fully demonstrated, but it may also cause a failure of the image forming apparatus, so it is determined whether the toner container is genuine. The technology to do is known. As a technique for determining whether or not a toner container is a genuine product, for example, whether or not authentication information generated by encrypting a random number based on a secret key in a toner container matches a genuine one. There is a method of determining whether or not a mounted toner container is a genuine product by determining.

  However, if the secret key is stolen and the stolen secret key is installed in a non-genuine product, it is impossible to determine whether or not the installed toner container is a genuine product. Therefore, a technique has been proposed that makes it difficult to specify a secret key to be used by preparing a plurality of secret keys and changing the secret key to be used according to conditions (Patent Document 1 below).

JP 2013-62780 A

  The technique described in Patent Document 1 is excellent in that it is difficult to specify a secret key to be used, but there is only one encryption method, and further improvement is expected.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and it is an object of the present invention to make analysis of communication contents more difficult and to determine whether or not a toner container is a genuine product even more accurately. .

An image forming apparatus according to an aspect of the present invention includes an authentication command selection unit that appropriately selects an authentication command to be used from among a plurality of authentication commands;
A toner container that has a function of executing an encryption process based on an authentication command transmitted from the image forming apparatus and transmitting the execution result to the image forming apparatus and is detachable from the image forming apparatus. On the other hand, an authentication command transmitter that transmits the authentication command selected by the authentication command selector,
An encryption process execution unit that executes an encryption process based on the authentication command;
A comparison unit that compares the execution result of the encryption processing execution unit with the execution result of the encryption processing transmitted from the toner container;
A genuine product determination unit that determines whether the toner container is a genuine product based on a comparison result by the comparison unit.

Also, a genuine product determination method according to an aspect of the present invention is attached to an image forming apparatus, can handle a plurality of authentication commands, and executes an encryption process based on an authentication command transmitted from the image forming apparatus. A genuine product determination method for determining whether or not a toner container that is detachable from the image forming apparatus is a genuine product, the function having a function of transmitting an execution result to the image forming apparatus.
An authentication command selection step of appropriately selecting an authentication command to be used from a plurality of authentication commands;
An authentication command transmission step of transmitting the selected authentication command to the toner container;
An encryption processing step for executing encryption processing based on the authentication command;
A comparison step of comparing the execution result of executing the encryption process with the execution result of the encryption process transmitted from the toner container;
A genuine product determination step of determining whether the toner container is a genuine product based on the comparison result.

  According to the present invention, since an authentication command to be used is appropriately selected from among a plurality of authentication commands, the communication content between the image forming apparatus and the toner container is complicated, and even if communication between the two is monitored It takes a long time to analyze the authentication command.

  In addition, even if some authentication commands are analyzed and a non-genuine product that can handle the authentication commands is manufactured, the present invention appropriately selects an authentication command to be used from a plurality of authentication commands. Therefore, the analyzed authentication command is not always used, and a non-genuine product cannot make a correct response to the authentication command. Therefore, according to the present invention, it is possible to accurately avoid a situation in which a non-genuine product is determined to be a genuine product, and therefore it is possible to determine whether or not a mounted toner container is a genuine product with higher accuracy. be able to.

1 is a schematic partial cross-sectional front view showing the structure of an image forming apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention. 2 is a functional block diagram schematically illustrating a main internal configuration of the image forming apparatus. FIG. It is the figure which showed an example of the data structure of a relationship table memory | storage part. It is the figure which showed an example of the data structure of a selection condition memory | storage part. 6 is a flowchart illustrating genuine product determination processing performed by a control unit in the image forming apparatus. It is a block diagram which shows the mode of reading and writing of each data at the time of genuine product determination processing.

  Hereinafter, an image forming apparatus and a genuine product determination method according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a schematic partial cross-sectional front view showing the structure of the image forming apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

  An image forming apparatus 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention is a multifunction machine having a plurality of functions such as a copy function, a printer function, a scanner function, and a facsimile function. The image forming apparatus 1 includes an apparatus main body 11 including an operation unit 47, a document conveying unit 6, and an image reading unit 5.

  The operation unit 47 receives instructions such as an image forming operation execution instruction and a document reading operation execution instruction from the operator for various operations and processes that can be executed by the image forming apparatus 1, and displays operation guidance and the like to the operator. The display unit 473 is provided.

  A case where a document reading operation is performed in the image forming apparatus 1 will be described. An image of a document fed by the document transport unit 6 or a document placed on the document placing glass 161 is optically read by an image reading unit 5 including a reading mechanism 163, and image data is generated. . The image data generated by the image reading unit 5 is stored in a built-in HDD (Hard Disk Drive), a network-connected computer, or the like.

  A case where an image forming operation is performed in the image forming apparatus 1 will be described. The image forming unit 12 is fed from the paper feeding unit 14 based on image data generated by the document reading operation, image data stored in the built-in HDD, image data received from a computer connected to the network, and the like. A toner image is formed on a sheet P as a recording sheet.

  The image forming unit 12 includes an image forming unit 12Bk for black (Bk), an image forming unit 12Y for yellow (Y), an image forming unit 12C for cyan (C), and an image forming unit 12M for magenta (M). The image forming units 12Bk, 12Y, 12C, and 12M are respectively provided with drum-type photoconductors 121Bk, 121Y, 121C, and 121M. The photoconductors 121Bk, 121Y, 121C, and 121M are counterclockwise in FIG. It is designed to rotate around.

  The toner containers 17Bk, 17Y, 17C, and 17M store toners for black, yellow, cyan, and magenta, respectively, and the intermediate transfer belt 125 is located away from the photoreceptors 121Bk, 121Y, 121C, and 121M. A toner container mounting portion (not shown) provided in the apparatus main body 11 is detachably mounted on the upper side of the image.

  The transfer unit 120 includes an intermediate transfer belt 125, a driving roller 125a, a driven roller 125b, and a primary transfer roller 126 on which a toner image is transferred to the outer peripheral surface thereof.

  The intermediate transfer belt 125 is stretched between the driving roller 125a and the driven roller 125b, and is driven by the driving roller 125a in contact with the peripheral surfaces of the photoconductors 121Bk, 121Y, 121C, and 121M. Travel endlessly in synchronization with 121Y, 121C, 121M.

  Next, a case where color printing is performed will be described. The periphery of the photoconductors 121Bk, 121Y, 121C, and 121M is uniformly charged (charging process), and the surface of the charged photoconductors 121Bk, 121Y, 121C, and 121M is irradiated with laser light based on image data. Thus, a latent image is formed (exposure process), the latent image is visualized with toner (development process), and the toner image formed by the visualization is formed on the intermediate transfer belt 125 by the primary transfer roller 126. It is designed to be transcribed.

  The toner images of the respective colors (black, yellow, cyan, and magenta) transferred onto the intermediate transfer belt 125 are superimposed on the intermediate transfer belt 125 with the transfer timing adjusted to form a color toner image.

  The secondary transfer roller 210 passes a color toner image formed on the surface of the intermediate transfer belt 125 from the paper supply unit 14 through the conveyance path 190 at a nip N between the intermediate transfer belt 125 and the driving roller 125a. This is transferred onto the conveyed paper P. The color printing has been described so far. In the case of monochrome printing, the photoreceptors 121Y, 121C, and 121M for yellow, cyan, and magenta are not used, and the photoreceptor 121Bk for black is used. Only will be used.

  The fixing unit 13 fixes the toner image on the paper P by thermocompression bonding, and the paper P on which the color image has been formed is discharged to the discharge tray 151.

  The paper feeding unit 14 includes a plurality of paper feeding cassettes and a pickup roller 145 for picking up recording paper stored in each paper feeding cassette, and is a recording paper having a size specified by an instruction from an operator or the like. The corresponding pickup roller 145 is rotationally driven so as to pick up the sheet, and the designated recording paper is conveyed toward the nip portion N.

  A case where double-sided printing is performed in the image forming apparatus 1 will be described. After the sheet P having an image formed on one surface by the image forming unit 12 is sandwiched between the discharge roller pair 159, the sheet P is switched back by the discharge roller pair 159 and sent to the reverse conveyance path 195, The paper P is transported again to the upstream area in the transport direction by the transport roller pair 19. Thus, an image can be formed on the other side of the paper P.

  FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram schematically showing the main internal configuration of the image forming apparatus 1. The image forming apparatus 1 includes a control unit 10, a document conveying section 6, an image reading section 5, an image forming section 12, an image memory 32, an HDD 92, a fixing section 13, an RTC (Real-time Clock) 21, an authentication command execution apparatus 181, The operation unit 47, the facsimile communication unit 71, the network interface unit 91, and the toner container 17 (17Bk, 17Y, 17C, 17M) are configured. Components similar to those of the image forming apparatus 1 shown in FIG. 1 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and detailed description thereof is omitted here.

  Each toner container 17 has an IC chip 171 including a CPU (Central Processing Unit), a RAM (Random Access Memory), and a ROM (Read Only Memory). The IC chip 171 is connected to the control unit 10. Data can be exchanged between them.

  Further, the IC chip 171 executes an authentication command receiving unit 172 that receives an authentication command transmitted from the control unit 10, an encryption processing execution unit 173 that executes an encryption process based on the received authentication command, and An execution result transmission unit 174 that transmits a result to the control unit 10, an encryption algorithm memory 175 that stores a plurality of encryption algorithms A to D corresponding to the authentication command, and a secret key memory 176 that stores a secret key It has.

  The authentication command execution device 181 includes a CPU, a RAM, and a ROM, and can exchange data with the control unit 10.

  Similarly to the IC chip 171 of the toner container 17, the authentication command execution device 181 includes an authentication command reception unit 182, an encryption process execution unit 183, an execution result transmission unit 184, and an encryption algorithm that the toner container 17 has. And an encryption algorithm memory 185 storing common encryption algorithms A to D, and a secret key memory 186 storing a secret key.

  The control unit 10 includes a CPU, a RAM, a ROM, and a dedicated hardware circuit. The control unit 100 controls overall operation of the image forming apparatus 1, a selection condition acquisition unit 101, and a relation table selection. Unit 102, authentication command selection unit 103, authentication command transmission unit 104, execution result reception unit 105, comparison unit 106, genuine product determination unit 107, and random number generation unit 108. The memory connected to the control unit 10 includes a relationship table storage unit 109, a selection condition storage unit 110 that stores relationship table selection conditions, and a print number storage unit 111 that stores the number of prints printed by the image forming apparatus. The image forming apparatus functions as a serial number storage unit 112 in which a serial number is stored.

  The print number storage unit 111 is counted up by the control unit 100 every time printing is performed by the image forming apparatus. When the print number storage unit 111 reaches a certain number (for example, 6000 sheets), the control unit 100 sets “0 sheets”. It may be reset to "".

  FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of the data configuration of the relationship table storage unit 109. The relationship table storage unit 109 stores a plurality of relationship tables D1 to D4. The relationship tables D1 and D2 are tables showing the relationship between the number of printed sheets printed by the image forming apparatus and the authentication commands A to D, and the relationship table D3 is a table showing the relationship between the time and the authentication commands A to D. The relationship table D4 is a table showing the relationship between the number of printed sheets and time and the authentication commands A to D.

  For example, the relationship table D1 indicates that the “authentication command A” is used when the number of printed sheets is “0 to 1000”, and the relationship table D3 indicates that the time is “6:00 to 11:59”. ”Indicates that the“ authentication command B ”is used, and the relationship table D4 indicates that when the number of printed sheets is“ 1001 to 2000 sheets ”and the time is“ 0:00 to 11:59 ”, This indicates that “authentication command C” is used.

  FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of the data configuration of the selection condition storage unit 110, and the selection condition storage unit 110 uses relationships from a plurality of relationship tables D 1 to D 4 stored in the relationship table storage unit 109. Selection conditions for selecting a table are stored. For example, information about the use of the image forming apparatus such as data designated by the operator via the operation unit 47, data designated by software update, Information unique to the image forming apparatus such as a serial number of the forming apparatus (“10921338” in FIG. 4) is stored.

  The data designated by the operator via the operation unit 47 includes, for example, the number of prints designated by the operator, and the data is updated when the setting for the number of prints is changed. For example, when the number of print copies is changed from “7” to “10”, the control unit 100 changes the data of “the latest number of prints designated by the operator” to “10” as shown in FIG. Update to

  The data designated by the software update includes, for example, the version of the updated software, and the data is updated when any software is upgraded. For example, when the version of a certain software is updated from “6” to “7”, the control unit 100 updates the data “updated latest version of software” to “7” as shown in FIG. To do.

  Also, the control unit 10 shown in FIG. 2 operates in accordance with a control program installed in the HDD 92, so that the control unit 100, the selection condition acquisition unit 101, the relationship table selection unit 102, the authentication command selection unit 103, the authentication command The memory that functions as the transmission unit 104, the execution result reception unit 105, the comparison unit 106, the genuine product determination unit 107, and the random number generation unit 108 and is connected to the control unit 10 includes the relationship table storage unit 109 and the selection condition storage unit 110. , And functions as a print number storage unit 111 and a serial number storage unit 112. However, these control units 100 and the like can also be configured by hardware circuits, regardless of the operation according to the control program by the control unit 10. The same applies to each embodiment unless otherwise specified.

  The control unit 100 includes a document transport unit 6, an image reading unit 5, an image forming unit 12, an image memory 32, an HDD 92, a fixing unit 13, an RTC 21, an authentication command execution device 181, an operation unit 47, a facsimile communication unit 71, and a network interface unit. 91 and the toner container 17 and drive control of these parts is performed.

  The selection condition acquisition unit 101 acquires a selection condition from the selection condition storage unit 110 (FIG. 4).

  The relationship table selection unit 102 selects a relationship table to be used from a plurality of relationship tables D1 to D4 stored in the relationship table storage unit 109 (FIG. 3) based on the selection condition acquired by the selection condition acquisition unit 101. To do.

  The authentication command selection unit 103 selects an authentication command to be used from among the plurality of authentication commands A to D using any one of the relationship tables D1 to D4 selected by the relationship table selection unit 102.

  The authentication command transmission unit 104 adds the random number generated by the random number generation unit 108 to the authentication command selected by the authentication command selection unit 103 and transmits it to the attached toner container 17 and the authentication command execution device 181. .

  The execution result receiving unit 105 receives the encrypted execution results transmitted from the toner container 17 and the authentication command execution device 181.

  The comparison unit 106 compares the execution result of the encryption process transmitted from the toner container 17 with the execution result of the encryption process transmitted from the authentication command execution device 181.

  The genuine product determination unit 107 determines whether the toner container 17 is a genuine product based on the comparison result by the comparison unit 106.

  Next, a genuine product determination method for the toner container 17 will be described. FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing genuine product determination processing performed by the control unit 10 in the image forming apparatus 1. FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing how data is read and written during genuine product determination processing.

  First, the selection condition acquisition unit 101 acquires an authentication command selection condition from the selection condition storage unit 110 (FIG. 4) (S1), and the relationship table selection unit 102 sets the selection condition acquired from the selection condition storage unit 110 as a numerical value. (S2), and based on the numerical value N, a relation table to be used is selected from a plurality of relation tables D1 to D4 stored in the relation table storage unit 109 (FIG. 3) (S3, S6). S8).

  For example, the selection condition acquisition unit 101 acquires the latest number of prints designated by the operator, the latest updated version of the software, and the serial number, and the relation table selection unit 102 adds all these data To set a numerical value N, determine whether the numerical value N is +1, +2, +3, or 0 with respect to a multiple of 4 (4k: k is an integer), and use it based on the determination result Select a relationship table.

  The relationship table selection unit 102 determines whether or not the numerical value N obtained by quantifying the selection condition is “4k + 1” (S3), and if it is determined that the numerical value N is “4k + 1” (YES in S3), the relationship The relation table D1 is selected as a relation table to be used from among a plurality of relation tables D1 to D4 stored in the table storage unit 109.

  Based on the relationship table D1, the authentication command selection unit 103 acquires the print number information necessary for selecting the authentication command from the print number storage unit 111 (S4), and uses the relationship table D1 to obtain the acquired print number information. Based on this, an authentication command is selected (S5). For example, when the number of printed sheets is “2100”, the authentication command C is selected.

  On the other hand, if it is determined in S3 that the numerical value N is not “4k + 1” (NO in S3), the relationship table selection unit 102 determines whether the numerical value N is “4k + 2” (S6). Is “4k + 2” (YES in S6), the relationship table D2 is selected as the relationship table to be used.

  Based on the relationship table D2, the authentication command selection unit 103 acquires the print number information necessary for selecting the authentication command from the print number storage unit 111 (S7), and uses the relationship table D2 to obtain the acquired print number information. Based on this, an authentication command is selected (S5). For example, when the number of printed sheets is “2100 sheets”, the authentication command A is selected.

  On the other hand, if it is determined in S6 that the numerical value N is not “4k + 2” (NO in S6), the relationship table selection unit 102 determines whether the numerical value N is “4k + 3” (S8). Is “4k + 3” (YES in S8), the relationship table D3 is selected as the relationship table to be used.

  The authentication command selection unit 103 acquires time information necessary for selecting an authentication command from the RTC 21 based on the relationship table D3 (S9), and uses the relationship table D3 to generate an authentication command based on the acquired time information. Select (S5). For example, if the time is “19:30”, the authentication command D is selected.

  On the other hand, if it is determined in S8 that the numerical value N is not “4k + 3” (NO in S8), the relationship table selection unit 102 selects the relationship table D4 as the relationship table to be used.

  Based on the relationship table D4, the authentication command selection unit 103 acquires the print number information necessary for selecting the authentication command from the print number storage unit 111 (S10), and acquires time information from the RTC 21 (S11). Using the table D4, an authentication command is selected based on the acquired number-of-prints information and time information (S5). For example, when the number of printed sheets is “2100” and the time is “19:30”, the authentication command B is selected.

  Next, the authentication command transmission unit 104 acquires the random number generated by the random number generation unit 108 (S12), adds the acquired random number, and uses the authentication command selected by the authentication command selection unit 103 as the toner container 17. (S13), the execution result receiving unit 105 receives the execution result of the encryption process based on the authentication command transmitted from the toner container 17 (S14).

  When the authentication command receiving unit 172 of the toner container 17 receives the authentication command transmitted in S13, the encryption processing execution unit 173 uses the encryption algorithm corresponding to the transmitted authentication command to set the secret key. Based on this, an encryption process for encrypting the random number is executed, and the execution result transmission unit 174 transmits the execution result (encrypted data) to the control unit 10.

  After receiving the execution result transmitted from the toner container 17, the authentication command transmission unit 104 adds a random number and transmits the authentication command selected by the authentication command selection unit 103 to the authentication command execution device 181 (S15). The execution result receiving unit 105 receives the execution result (encrypted data) of the encryption process based on the authentication command transmitted from the authentication command execution device 181 (S16).

  When the authentication command reception unit 182 of the authentication command execution device 181 receives the authentication command, the encryption processing execution unit 183 uses the encryption algorithm corresponding to the transmitted authentication command, as in the toner container 17. Then, an encryption process for encrypting the random number is executed based on the secret key, and the execution result transmission unit 184 transmits the execution result (encrypted data) to the control unit 10.

  Next, the comparison unit 106 determines whether or not the execution results from both sides match (S17). If the comparison unit 106 determines that the execution results match (YES in S17), the genuine product determination unit 107 determines that the toner container 17 Is determined to be a genuine product (S18), and if it is determined that the execution results do not match (NO in S17), the genuine product determination unit 107 determines that the toner container 17 is a non-genuine product (S19).

  According to the above-described embodiment, an authentication command to be used is selected as appropriate from among a plurality of authentication commands A to D depending on the number of printed sheets and time, so that the communication content between the image forming apparatus 1 and the toner container 17 is complicated, Even if the communication exchange between the two is monitored, it takes a long time to analyze the authentication command.

  According to the present invention, since an authentication command to be used is appropriately selected from among a plurality of authentication commands, the communication content between the image forming apparatus and the toner container is complicated, and even if communication between the two is monitored It takes a long time to analyze the authentication command.

  In addition, even if some authentication commands are analyzed and a non-genuine product that can handle the authentication commands is manufactured, in this embodiment, an authentication command to be used is appropriately selected from a plurality of authentication commands. Therefore, the analyzed authentication command is not always used, and a non-genuine product cannot make a correct response to the authentication command. Therefore, according to the present embodiment, it is possible to accurately avoid a situation in which a non-genuine product is determined to be a genuine product, and therefore it is possible to further accurately determine whether or not the installed toner container 17 is a genuine product. Can be done well.

  Also, since the relation tables D1 to D4 are appropriately selected according to information on the use of the image forming apparatus and information specific to the image forming apparatus, even if the number of printed sheets and the time are the same, an authentication command to be used is used. It is not always the same. Therefore, the communication content becomes even more complicated.

  As a result, if the installed toner container is a non-genuine product, it can be handled as a genuine product, and the user can be notified that the non-genuine product is being used. You can encourage the use of genuine products.

  The present invention is not limited to the configuration of the above embodiment, and various modifications can be made. In the above-described embodiment, the multifunction apparatus is used as an embodiment of the image forming apparatus according to the present invention. However, this is only an example, and other electronic devices such as a printer, a copier, and a facsimile machine. Another image forming apparatus such as an apparatus may be used.

  Moreover, in the said embodiment, the structure and process which were shown by the said embodiment using FIG. 1 thru | or FIG. 6 are only one Embodiment of this invention, and are not the meaning which limits this invention to the said structure and process.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Image forming apparatus 17 Toner container 100 Control part 102 Relation table selection part 103 Authentication command selection part 104 Authentication command transmission part 105 Execution result reception part 106 Comparison part 107 Genuine product determination part 109 Relation table memory | storage parts 173,183 Execution of encryption processing Units 174 and 184 Execution result transmission unit

Claims (6)

An authentication command selection unit for appropriately selecting an authentication command to be used from among a plurality of authentication commands;
A toner container that has a function of executing an encryption process based on an authentication command transmitted from the image forming apparatus and transmitting the execution result to the image forming apparatus and is detachable from the image forming apparatus. On the other hand, an authentication command transmitter that transmits the authentication command selected by the authentication command selector,
An encryption process execution unit that executes an encryption process based on the authentication command;
A comparison unit that compares the execution result of the encryption processing execution unit with the execution result of the encryption processing transmitted from the toner container;
A genuine product determination unit that determines whether or not the toner container is a genuine product based on a comparison result by the comparison unit.   The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the authentication command selection condition used for selecting the authentication command is one of time information and information related to use of the image forming apparatus. A relationship table storage unit for storing a plurality of relationship tables indicating the relationship between an authentication command and the authentication command selection condition used for selecting the authentication command;
A relationship table selection unit that appropriately selects a relationship table to be used from among the relationship tables stored in the relationship table storage unit,
The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the authentication command selection unit selects an authentication command to be used by using the relationship table selected by the relationship table selection unit.   The image forming apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the relation table selection condition used for selecting the relation table is one of information relating to use of the image forming apparatus and information specific to the image forming apparatus. A function that is attached to the image forming apparatus, can handle a plurality of authentication commands, performs an encryption process based on an authentication command transmitted from the image forming apparatus, and transmits the execution result to the image forming apparatus. A genuine product determination method for determining whether or not a toner container that is detachably attached to the image forming apparatus is a genuine product,
An authentication command selection step of appropriately selecting an authentication command to be used from a plurality of authentication commands;
An authentication command transmission step of transmitting the selected authentication command to the toner container;
An encryption processing step for executing encryption processing based on the authentication command;
A comparison step of comparing the execution result of executing the encryption process with the execution result of the encryption process transmitted from the toner container;
A genuine product determination method for determining whether or not the toner container is a genuine product based on a comparison result. A relationship table selection step of appropriately selecting a relationship table to be used from among a plurality of relationship tables indicating a relationship between an authentication command and an authentication command selection condition used for selecting the authentication command;
The genuine product determination method according to claim 5, wherein in the authentication command selection step, an authentication command to be used is selected using a relationship table selected from a plurality of relationship tables.